Save Article

The Rise of the Roman Penthouse

The Luxury Rooftop Homes Have Held Their Value

By

J.S. Marcus

May 8, 2014 6:30 p.m. ET

A Roman street is a pageant of cars, scooters and architectural splendor, but a glance upward can reveal the edges of a secret world—that of the Roman penthouse.

Italy's residential real-estate prices are in a funk, with prices down 20% or more since prerecession peaks in 2007 and 2008. But the prices of Rome's penthouses are holding their own, says Helio Cordeiro Teixeira, managing partner in the Rome branch of Engel & Völkers,...